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to me before. California Gourds has to be the best company I have
ever dealt with. Your site is the best and the shipping of orders
are the best too. Thank you again. I love your company and your
site. Thank you."
~ Jackie Smalley
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| SPECIAL
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| (1) GET GREAT INSPIRATION
FROM GOURD BOOKS!
Pick up a gourd book when you need a bit of inspiration! Not only
will you see what others are creating, you will find yourself
taking designs to the next level! Add an extra splash here. Take
away an embellishment there. Sometimes the best ideas come from
playing around with other designs! Buy your latest gourd book
from California Gourds! Click
Here to Shop Now!
(2) FINISH YOUR PINE NEEDLE BASKETS WITH
MORE PINE NEEDLES!
California Gourds is the place to shop for high quality,
inexpensive pine needle bundles for all of your basketry and gourding
needs! Our prices tend to be significantly lower than our competitors!
Stock up now to complete your pine needle projects! We also have
waxed linen available! Order
Now!
(3) CALIFORNIA GOURDS COMING TO YOU!
For our subscribers who live in or around New Albany, Indiana,
Ojai, California, and Grass Valley, California, be sure to stop
by Ben Franklin Crafts to select from top quality,
craft-ready California-grown gourds! You can also find a wide
range of leather dyes, ink dyes, stamp pads, pigment powders,
and applicators for your gourd coloring needs! Be sure to ask
about their gourd art classes!
|
| GOURD
TIP |
Curing Your Gourds
It's that time of year again when harvesting your gourds
is just around the corner. For those of you who are growing
your own crop, here is a tidbit of information on curing your
gourds.
an excerpt from The
Complete Book of Gourd Craft by Ginger Summit & Jim
Widess
When gourds have matured thoroughly on the vine,
the shell is firm to the touch and is covered with a thin
protective waxy epidermis, or skin. The skins of ornamental
gourds have bright and varied colors, including yellows, oranges,
and greens in sometimes fascinating patterns and combinations.
Hardshell gourds are less colorful but also have interesting
patterns of greens and ivory. Unfortunately, the colors that
are so beautiful in the fall are contained in the epidermis,
which fades and eventually is shed as the gourd cures. Even
though the shell is firm, it's still somewhat fragile and
should be handled carefully so as not to bruise, nick, or
scratch the protective skin.
At the time of harvest, the gourd is composed
of 90 percent water. Curing is the process of evaporation
as all the interior water slowly leaches out through the porous
woody outer shell and eventually dries on the gourd surface.
The drying time for freshly harvested gourds varies from six
weeks to more than a year depending on the type of gourd,
its size, the thickness of its shell, and the weather conditions.
It's hard to estimate accurately, because some small ornamental
gourds with thin shells may take several months to dry, and
certain hardshell gourds will dry in a much shorter time.
Sometimes it's difficult to tell if a gourd
is completely dry, although experience will give you many
clues. The shell becomes a light tan/brown shade (under the
molded epidermis) and the seeds usually will rattle. The gourd
will feel relatively light when picked up. Again, however,
there is variability within each of these features. Some gourds
have very thick and dense shells and even when dry are heavy
relative to their size when compared to other similar sized
gourds. Sometimes the pulp has dried to form a fibrous mat
that sticks to the inside of the gourd, encasing the seeds
so that they don't loosen and rattle against the dry shell.
Also, the color tone of the gourd may vary from creamy tan
to a relatively dark shade of brown. Experience provides the
best basis for judgment as to when a gourd is dry.
Mature healthy gourds can be left outside to
dry even in freezing weather; the alternate freezing and thawing
help to loosen the epidermal skin and ease the eventual cleaning
job. Whether left outside or brought under cover, the gourd
should be well ventilated and, preferably, stored off the
ground. As the water evaporates and dries on the gourd surface,
it forms a mold on the exterior shell.
For the complete story on gourd growing, harvesting,
cleaning, trade tips and crafting, purchase The
Complete Book of Gourd Craft on the California Gourds
website!
Extra Gourd Tip
- Always be sure to use some type of a dust mask when cutting,
carving and burning gourds. The dust can be harmful to your
lungs. For more basic gourd safety, click
here.
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THE GOURD CLASSIFIEDS |
Buy, Sell, and Trade your gourd tools, supplies,
fetishes, embellishments, and more in The
Gourd Classifieds! Clean up your studio and
get rid of those gourd items you no longer need! Place your "FOR
SALE" ads in The Gourd Classifieds
and get two lines of text plus a bold title for just $15.00*.
"FOR TRADE" & "WANTED"
ads are FREE! All ads will be viewed on the web
by thousands of other gourders for 30
days!!! PLUS your ad will run in one issue of
the widely viewed newsletter, The Gourdzette,
the longest running online newsletter for the gourd community.
To place your ad, contact Patti at editor@gourdzette.com.
To view all current ads, go to The
Gourd Classifieds on The
Gourdzette
web site or just click
here!
*Each additional line or partial line is $5.00 per line.
Place your ad in the Gourd Personals
and find other gourders like yourself to share
your time with! You choose how long you wish to have your ad run
on the web, viewed by thousands of other gourders! PLUS your ad
will run in one issue of the widely viewed newsletter, The
Gourdzette. Create your own gourd patch! Or
who knows you might meet Mr or Mrs Gourd Right! Fantastic
for Gourd Art Instructors searching for teaching venues!
Click
Here for Pricing!
| MY PERFECT
PANTRY MAKES SHOPPING HEALTHY EASY!
Go now to MyPerfectPantry.com,
your personal shopping & errand service! Your favorite
place to find tempting items from Trader Joes and other specialty
shops in California! Select from hundreds of organic and non-organic
products from some of California's favorite specialty stores.
And check out all of our FREE recipes! www.MyPerfectPantry.com |
For questions regarding The Gourdzette or The Gourd
Classifieds, please contact us via email at editor@gourdzette.com.
The Gourd Classifieds are copyrighted
and the sole property of California Gourds.
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| CALENDAR
OF EVENTS |
FREE ADVERTISING
FOR YOUR GOURD CLASS OR EVENTS
Email us with your gourd art classes and your gourd events,
and we will add them to our Calendar of Events for free! The Calendar
of Events is posted on every full issue of The Gourdzette.
Let other gourders know what's going on in the gourd world! Let's
get more people hooked on gourds! Email our Editor at editor@gourdzette.com.
************************************************
February 2-4, 2007 - Wuertz Farm
Gourd Festival in Arizona. For more information, visit Wuertz
farm website for details. www.wuertzfarm.com
February 5, 2007 - Gourd Artist,
Barbara McDermott, holds gourd classes in her Murrieta Home Classroom.
Coming February 5, 2007, Monday Evenings, a six week class, Painting
on Gourds will begin. A project will be completed in each class.
For additional class information or to register please call (951)
894-1817 or email mcdeeart@verizon.net
February 23-25, 2007 - Florida Gourd
Show "Gourdin' on the River". Indoor location at the
East Palatka Fairgrounds, Palatka, FL. Exhibits, Vendors, Workshops,
Growers, and Demonstrations. See website for details: www.flgourdsoc.org
April 14-15, 2007 - Santa Clara
Valley Carvers, Chapter #1 of the California Carvers Guild and
West Bay Woodturners 40th Annual Carvers and Woodturners Show
and Competition which will include a judging category for Carved
and Burned Gourds Dates: Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Sunday,
10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Prospect High School Gymnasium, 18900 Prospect
Road, Saratoga, CA. Tables will be available for clubs or individuals.
Contacts: Ron Richards (408) 255-3391 or Jerry Gin (408) 431-3719
May 5-6, 2007 - HERE WE GOURD AGAIN!
- The 2nd Annual Wisconsin Gourd
Society Gourd Festival, Waukesha, Wisconsin. Contact terri schmit
at
thegourdgirl@yahoo.com
or visit our website at www.wisconsingourdsociety.org.
June 15-16, 2007 - Hawaii Gourd
Show. For more information, visit www.ipushow.com.
"Gifts For All Seasons" - a gift shop and painting
and gourd art supply store. We teach painting classes and now
we have gourd art classes every week. They are available Tues.
evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 or Wed. afternoons from 1:00 - 3:00.
Our phone number is 618-466-5580 and our email is sue@giftsandgourds.com
or diane@giftsandgourds.com |
| SEE
YOU NEXT TIME! |
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California Gourds is the nation's leading online retailer
of quality hard-shelled gourds and supplies. Our quality hard-shelled
gourds and supplies are sold throughout the continental United States,
Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and more. Dedicated to service and to the
gourding needs of our customers, California Gourds seeks out the best
pricing and quality of each gourd and supply we sell.
Presently, California Gourds features gourds from several
California gourd farms, and that's just the beginning. Get wild on gourds!
Craft a gourd today!
Visit our web site at http://www.californiagourds.com/
HOW CAN WE SERVE YOU BETTER?
California Gourds is dedicated to bringing you the best gourds,
products, friendly service and prices possible! Please let us know how
we can serve you better. What would you like to see changed or improved
on: web site? newsletter? products or services? Send
us an e-mail! Or give us a call: 951.639.3681
To contact California Gourds:
E-mail: info@californiagourds.com
The Gourdzette newsletter is a copyrighted
publication of California Gourds. For information on reprinting this
publication in whole or in part, please contact the Editor of The
Gourdzette, at editor@gourdzette.com.
To make this your last
edition of the newsletter, click on the link listed at the very bottom
left of this email.
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